THE OPENING PITCH: The University of Minnesota Duluth plays Arkansas Tech University to open the NCAA Central Region Tournament on Thursday, May 10 at 3:30 p.m. The Bulldogs, who are making their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and second in three years, are the fourth seed and paired up with first-seed and host Winona State University, and eighth-seed Emporia State University in the Central Region 1 bracket. The double-elimination tournament will run until Saturday at Maynard R. Johnson Field in Winona, Minn., with the winner advancing to the super regionals, slated for May 17-18.

SCOUTING REPORT ON ARKANSAS TECH: The Golden Suns are 30-17 and the 2018 Great American Conference Champions after beating Southern Nazarene last Sunday. Arkansas Tech went 4-0 in the conference tournament and won on a throwing error in the seventh. The Suns finished second in the GAC and have won eight of the last nine.
Megan Goodnight is slated to start in the circle for Arkansas Tech. She won three GAC tournament games including the championship game. The junior from Cabot, Ark., is 16-4 with a 1.45 ERA in 21 starts. She has eight complete games, three shutouts and nine saves. The Suns are hitting .329 as a group with all nine starters hitting above .300. Four players have at least 40 RBI. Ashton Sangster is hitting .352 batting second and has 32 of the Suns' 66 steals. Janie Knowles and Makenzie Addis each lead ATU with 11 home runs. Addis has a team-high 45 RBI.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WINONA STATE: The Warriors are 45-5 and the 2018 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Champions. Winona State also went 4-0 in the NSIC tournament and needed a walk-off grand slam to clinch the title over Augustana. The Warriors are ranked fifth in the NFCA poll and have won 15 straight.
Winona State comes in as the favorites with Lani Van Zyl, the NSIC Player of the Year, and Jordyn Kleman, the NSIC Pitcher of the Year. Van Zyl is on a torrid pace hitting .485 with 18 doubles,  13 home runs and 59 RBI. Her .847 slugging is tops in the NSIC. Kleman is 19-1 in the circle with a cool 1.79 ERA. She has eight  shutouts including a perfect game this season. McKenna Larsen is dangerous from the plate and the pitching rubber. Larsen is batting .415 with 43 RBI and has a 18-4 record with a 1.90 ERA. Rylee Stout is second on the Warriors with 12 home runs and 46 runs driven in.

SCOUTING REPORT ON EMPORIA STATE The Hornets are 28-29 overall, the only sub .500 team in the NCAA Tournament, and the 2018 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Champions. Emporia State won three straight games to reach the championship round. It needed the second game to eventually thwart off Central Oklahoma. The Hornets are clicking on all cylinders, running off 14 wins in the last 15 games.
The Bulldogs could see either Montana Mesler or Kelsey Phillips toe the rubber. Melser is 13-12 with a 4.69 ERA and 18 complete games. Phillips is 10-10 with a 4.86 ERA. UMD saw three pitchers in its 13-4 shelling of the Hornets in March. Danielle Sprinkle is the bat to watch for as Danielle is hitting .373 with 20 doubles, eight home runs for a team-leading 48 RBI. Emporia State has four players with 16 steals or more with Kenzie Garvin leading the way with 22 in 29 attempts.

FARING IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: This marks the eighth NCAA postseason appearance for the Bulldogs, who are 5-14 lifetime in the north/central region. UMD, which has made the NCAA postseason five of the nine seasons, has never advanced to the super regions but has played in the championship round in 2011 falling to Augustana. The Bulldogs are 1-6 in the opening-round game with their only win coming in 2011 against Colorado School of Mines.

AGAINST NCAA FOES: The Bulldogs are 7-5 against the field of 64. Winona State, Augustana (three times) and Southern Indiana University have defeated UMD this season.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and the rest of the Central Region 1 competition stack up with its respective records and in the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association poll.
TEAM       SEED            RECORD        NFCA
WSU           1st                  45-5                5th
UMD            4th                40-13               RV
ATU             5th                 43-17              NR
ESU             8th                 28-29              NR

WATCH LIVE: The Central Region Tournament will be available for free via a web stream with live stats capabilities. The stream can be viewed at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LIVE STATS: Live stats will be hosted by Winona State:   www.sidearmstats.com/winona/softball/

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT RECAP: The Bulldogs finished the NSIC Tournament in third place after getting knocked out by Augustana. The Vikings advanced to the NSIC Championship game but were defeated by Winona State on a walk-off grand slam for the NSIC Championship. UMD blanked Sioux Falls 4-0 in the first round and moved onward after disposing of Concordia-St. Paul 5-2. The Warriors were able to best the Bulldogs 5-1, sending UMD to the elimination game where it met its demise to Augustana.

ALL-TOURNAMENT STAR: Hannah Schmoll was the only Bulldog named to the NSIC All-Tournament team. For the tournament, Schmoll was 10-for-15 with a double, a RBI and four stolen bases. She was tied among the league leaders in hits, batting average and stolen bases. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native had two hits extending her hitting streak to 13 games. Schmoll has hit safely in 13 of the last 14 postseason games dating back to 2016. 

ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES: For the ninth consecutive year, UMD has secured a spot on the NSIC first team while two other Bulldogs were bestowed with second team honors. Hannah Schmoll was selected to the first team for the second time in her career after doing so her freshman campaign. Becky Smith and Natalie Wright each collared second team selections.

THE GOLD STANDARD: Lauren Oberle, Hannah Schmoll, Becky Smith, and Natalie Wright were all named to the 2018 NSIC Gold Glove Team at their respective positions. This is Oberle's (3B) and Smith's (SS) first time while Schmoll (CF) and Wright (2B) have been gold glovers each of the last two seasons.

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On March 14, the Bulldogs received the program's first National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Player of the Week. Jessica Bren captured the prestigious distinction after going 12-for-18 (.667) with seven home runs and a triple. She knocked in 15 RBI and scored 11 times to go along with five stolen bases. Bren posted a .684 on-base percentage and a 1.944 slugging percentage. She is one of two freshmen this season to take home the honor.

NSIC WEEKLY HONORS: No other team in the NSIC has more conference player of the week honorees this season than UMD (5). The Bulldogs lead the way with four players recognized by the league. Becky Smith (2/20 and 4/24), Jessica Bren (3/12), Valerie Hohol (3/12) and Breanna Swint (4/2) were all recognized by the league. 

IRONMAN TORCH PASSED ON: Becky Smith and Natalie Wright broke Tyra Kerr's mark of most consecutive games started (209) and career games started (209) at UMD. The duo, since they have stepped foot on campus as freshman in 2015, have started and played in every single game throughout their illustrious Bulldog careers. They are now at 215 consecutive games started, which passes Jordan Rice for most games played at UMD.

MILE MARKER 100: Jen Walter became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins. Walter reached the historical mark in the first game against Northern State on Thursday. She attained 100 victories in 145 games while former head coach Jen Banford reached 100 wins in 182 games. 

PILING UP THE HITS UNDER WALTER: Since the arrival of the new manager, UMD is 90-7 when it out-hits the opposition. That is roughly 62.6 percent of the total games under Walter's tenure (97 of 155).

SCORE FIRST: Scoring first doesn't always lead to victories but it is close. The Bulldogs have a combined 96-19 (.835) record dating back to 2015 when scoring first including 28-6 in 2018.

MAMBO NO. FIVE: One, two, three, four, five... When the Bulldogs reached at least five runs they are 34-2. It only gets sweeter when hitting 10+ runs as UMD is 18-0. 

TAKING CHARGE: Grabbing the lead early, results in positive outcomes. When leading after four complete, the Bulldogs are 33-1. When tied or trailing, they are 6-10. The only blemish can in the 8-7 loss to Minot State when UMD allowed six runs in the fifth.

SECOND TIME AROUND: The Bulldogs have a plus-45 run differential in the third inning this year. UMD has scored 80 runs, the highest total of any inning, this season normally when the batting order turns back over to the top. 

SHUT 'EM DOWN: For the season, the Bulldogs have allowed only 10 runs in seventh inning. They are 26-0 when tied or leading after the sixth.

EXTRA! EXTRA!: UMD is 14-4 in extra innings dating back to the 2013 season. Only one game this season  -- a 4-3 win over Upper Iowa -- has been needed to decide a game in the eighth inning or later.

RUNNING AWAY IN A ROUT: The Bulldogs are 24-1 this season in games decided by five or more runs. They have beaten teams via the mercy rule 14 times.

... AND WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: UMD has gone 16-7 in one-run games over the last three seasons. It has won eight of the last 10 one-run decisions.

BOMB SQUAD: The Bulldogs have launched the ball out of the park. They rank first in the NSIC in home runs with 62. That is 15 more than the next closest NSIC squad in Sioux Falls. The program record is now in the hands of the 2018 Bulldogs as the club eclipsed the 61 set in 2013.

BOMB SQUAD II: UMD circled the bases a season-high six times is a 17-2 thrashing of LIU Post. The six home runs is tied for fifth-most in Division II. In that game Jordyn Thomas smashed three consecutive home runs including two in an inning. She is the first Bulldog to homer in three consecutive at-bats and the last to hit multiple dingers in an inning since Ashley Lewis accomplished that feat back on March 26, 2016.

YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD: The trio of Jessica Bren, Becky Smith and Jordyn Thomas are all ranked in the top four in the conference in home runs. Bren, the league leader, has 16 home runs. Smith has 12, reaching a personal best, and Thomas has 12 in her first year. This is the second time is school history with three players with double digit home runs (2011).

BREN BOMBER: Jessica Bren is first among freshman in homers. Her 16 homers, which is a program record for a single Bulldog season, is eighth among Division II players.

THE TEAM OF STEAL: Not many teams are as aggressive on the base paths than UMD. After setting the program mark for steals with 112 last year, the Bulldogs upped the ante. They have 123 stolen bases, which is tied for 11th nationally. They are swiping 2.32 bags per game, the 14th-best mark.

SWOOPING IN UNNOTICED: On a per game basis, Hannah Schmoll is swiping 0.79 bases, which is the best in the NSIC and 12th in the entire Division II landscape.

RIPPING IT EVERYWHERE: Four batters -- Hannah Schmoll (.459), Becky Smith (.388), Sammi Sadler (.376), and Natalie Wright (.373) -- have an average above the .370-mark. Only one other player in the NSIC has a better batting average than Schmoll, who is second in average (.459), fourth nationally in hits (83) and leads the conference in runs (59). 

RIPPING IT EVERYWHERE II: Six batters have a slugging percentage over .500 with Jordyn Thomas (.712), and Becky Smith (.710) leading the way. Thomas and Smith are both attempting to break the single-season slugging record. In fact, UMD has a team slugging percentage of .545, which would crush the single-season record set by the 2013 Bulldogs (.489).

DAMAGE WITH OUT OUTS: The Bulldogs are hitting .326 as a team with two-outs and they have 137 two-out RBI. Hannah Schmoll has been dynamitic at the plate with two away. Schmoll leads the team with a ridiculous .520 batting average. She has 29 hits with a team leading 25 RBI. 

SEND THEM PACKING: The nine strikeouts recorded by Valerie Hohol in the season opener against SMSU and against Minnesota Crookston and by Breanna Swint against Georgian Court were both collegiate highs. Hohol eclipsed her previous mark of eight strikeouts last year against the University of Minnesota Crookston. Swint bested her high of seven strikeouts done last season against MSU Moorhead.

OFFENSIVE BOMBARDMENT: For only the third time in the last decade, the Bulldogs eclipsed the 20-run mark in their 22-12 shelling of Missouri Western State on Feb. 15.
The last time UMD had that many runners cross the plate was on March 4, 2006 when it put up a 25-spot on Marian College. The combined 34 runs were the most in program history since UMD and Upper Iowa tabbed 39 runs back in April 15, 2007.

OFFENSIVE BOMBARDMENT II: For the second time in school history, the Bulldogs plated 12 runs in an inning, a program record. UMD scored 12 times in the seventh against Bemidji State. The 2014 Bulldogs put up 12 runs in the first inning against Lincoln. 

PATIENCE AT THE PLATE ALL SEASON: The Bulldogs have drew 205 walks this season, which is a single-season record. The 2012 Bulldogs had the previous record with 160 walks.

TAKE YOUR BASE: No one draws more walks for UMD then Lauren Oberle. She has 33 walks on the year, first in the NSIC and a UMD record. She has shown a keen eye at the plate with at least a walk in 25 games and multiple free passes in seven of them. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native is 25th in the country in walks per game at 0.69. 

SECONDARY LEADOFF THREAT: She doesn't possess the blazing speed of her teammate but Sammi Sadler has been a godsend at the bottom of the order. Sadler is .469 when leading off and is a surprising 10-for-12 (.833) with the bases loaded. 

THE RBI QUEEN: Back on Feb. 15, Becky Smith set the career RBI record at UMD, jumping pass Ashley Johnson (2008-11) and Kierra Jeffers (2010-13) for most all-time. She now sits with 205 RBI surpassing the old mark of 149. Smith sits in fifth among her active Division II peers for RBI in a career. The Long Lake, Minn., native also set the single-season record on Apr. 25 with six RBI against Bemidji State. She has 65 RBI, tied for fifth in the country

SPEED DEMON: The season and career record holder in stolen bases, Hannah Schmoll has etch her name higher into the UMD record books. Back in 2016, Schmoll smashed the single-season stolen base record with the new aggressive approach by coach Walter. Schmoll stole 40 bases on 46 attempts during her sophomore campaign and bested her total this season with 42. Schmoll has 146 stolen bags in 161 tries for her career. Both those marks are career highs at UMD. Among active leaders in Division II, Schmoll ranks with the third most stolen bases.

GOLD GLOVE MATERIAL: 2017 was a record-breaking year defensively for the Bulldogs. UMD closed out the year with a .974 fielding percentage -- the best mark in program history (the previous record was .971 set in 2002) to rank 11th among all NCAA Division II clubs. Leading the way for the Bulldogs and setting career highs in that department were Becky Smith (.982), Kalynn Tilton (.982), Hannah Schmoll (.978), Lauren Oberle (.971) and Natalie Wright (.965). 

THE HEAD COACH: In two short seasons at the controls of the University of Minnesota Duluth program, Walter has posted back-to-back 35-win seasons, accumulating a 70-37 overall record while going 39-17 in league play (including 18-10 in 2017 when it placed fourth in the 16-team standings).
Walter made quite the splash during her debut season at UMD as not only did the Bulldogs set a team record for NSIC victories by finishing 21-7 (good for a second-place finish and just one game back of league champion Minnesota State University-Mankato), but they returned to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2012. Along the way, they amassed a 35-17 overall mark and shattered or equaled nearly one dozen team and individual records.
On July 22, 2015, Walter signed on as just UMD's third head softball coach since the 1981-82 season. Walter certainly had proven herself the previous 16 seasons right down the road at the College of St. Scholastica, having directed the Saints to a 447-233 overall record (a .657 winning percentage), five NCAA Division III Tournament appearances (2006, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015), 15 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference regular season championships, 13 UMAC Tournament titles, and one trip to the NAIA National Tournament (2004). During Walter's tenure, CSS also eclipsed the 30-victory plateau on seven occasions. In addition, Walter helped produce three CSS All-Americans -- Laura Heise (2004 and 2006), Erica Kozacek (2006) and Rilee Dawson (2007) – 11 UMAC Player of the Year award recipients, 43 All-Region selections, 71 All-UMAC picks, and 81 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Scholar-Athletes.
A native of Wadena, Minn., Walter played two years of softball at Golden Valley Lutheran College in Minneapolis, where she was a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American catcher, and continued her collegiate career at Augustana College (S.D.), attaining All-North Central Conference honors as a senior in 1985. She went on to serve as the head softball coach at Perham High School (1989-91) and the assistant softball coach at both the Breck School (1991-97) and Robbinsdale Armstrong  High School (1997-99).
Inducted as player into the 2010 Minnesota High School Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Walter received a B.A. degree in health, physical education and recreation from Augustana in 1986.

ON DECK: The NCAA Super Regionals is on the docket if the Bulldogs advance out of the NCAA Central Region 1 Tournament. The winner of the Central Region 1 will square off in a best-of-three-series against the winner of Central Region 2 on May 17-18.